SUV Gets Stuck Between Buildings in O.C. After Driver Hits Gas, Not Brakes

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A motorist accidentally hit the gas instead of the brakes and drove through the side of a parking structure and into a neighboring home in Dana Point on Tuesday, authorities said.

A vehicle hung precariously off the edge of a condo building after a driver mistakenly hit the gas instead of the brakes on March 11, 2014. (Credit: Orange County Fire Authority)

The woman was pulling into her regular parking spot in a condominium building in the 34300 block of Lantern Bay (map) when she hit the wrong pedal, according to Orange County Fire Authority spokesman Steve Concialdi.

“It just launched her right through a small brick wall, through a white, wrought-iron fence, and then, down below, into the structure” next door, Concialdi said.

“She was fortunate — she wasn’t injured. But she was in a predicament because she was 6 feet off the ground,” he said.

Just underneath the vehicle, which was held aloft by two trees, a maintenance worker stood, having watched the car “coming over his head,” Concialdi said.

The vehicle was lodged between two condo buildings. (Credit: OCFA)

The worker helped the woman out of the car, which appeared to be a Lexus SUV, video shot by Concialdi showed.

The Fire Authority’s heavy rescue and search-and-rescue teams responded, along with two tow trucks. It took three hours to remove the vehicle from the gap between the two condo buildings, Concialdi said.

No one was injured.

“We always recommend, when you’re pulling in front of a building or pulling in front of anybody, go real slow and make sure your foot is on the brake and not on the gas,” he added.